Yes, Animals Get Depressed Too

Mr. G the goat was feeling baaaad until being reunited with his best bud, a burro named Jellybean.

The two were separated for six days after being rescued from an animal
hoarding situation in Southern California. Once the staff at the Animal
Place Sanctuary in Grass Valley, California, realized how much Mr. G
missed his friend, a volunteer agreed to drive 14 hours to bring the two
together.

Mr. G sure seemed mopey and down in the dumps during his separation from Jellybean. But do animals really get depressed?

Possibly, but scientists don’t like using the word depressed when
talking about animals, Olivier Berton, an assistant professor of
neuroscience in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, says.

“We prefer the term depression-like behavior,” he explained.

Berton, who studies social behavior in rodents and sheepishly admits
that he has no experience with goats, says it’s hard enough to pin down a
definition of depression in humans let alone animals because it’s such a
subjective emotion.